Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Mason slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. I just know she signed away her parental rights.”
“That’s terrible. Poor Charlie. How did you manage to finish medical school with a newborn?”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile. “My parents. They helped by watching Charlie for me while I was in school and working. I couldn’t have done it without them. And putting him up for adoption wasn’t an option.”
“What did your parents think? Do they still talk to your brother?”
Mason adjusted a bit on the sofa to get more comfortable before he started to speak once again. “They were upset, angry, hurt. Like I was. Of course, they would never turn their backs on him, but it was about a year or so before any of us talked to Nick again. Or saw him, for that matter. Then, one day, he showed up at my apartment and said he was sorry.”
“Did you at least make him sweat it out a few weeks before you accepted his apology?”
Laughing, Mason rubbed at the back of his neck and then his temples, as if the memory might be giving him a headache. “Let’s just say things still aren’t a hundred percent between us, and I don’t think they ever will be.”
I cleared my throat before I asked, “Are they still together?”
Mason shook his head. “No. They broke up when Charlie was around a year and a half. Since then, Ashley has tried to get back into the picture.”
I nearly choked. “What? She wants to be in Charlie’s life now that she isn’t with your brother?”
“Not only that, she wanted to get back together. It was one of the reasons I moved to Seaside. To get away from that whole mess.”
It felt like a brick landed in my stomach. “And now you and Charlie are the center of gossip here in Seaside. I’m so sorry, Mason. I don’t know why this Ms. Seaside is so obsessed with my family.”
“She doesn’t only talk about your family. And truth be told, she isn’t all that bad.”
“I know she doesn’t,” I said with a sigh. “But she sure does like to talk about us.”
Mason laughed. “Well, to be fair, you are an interesting bunch.”
I smiled, though I managed to hold back a giggle. “Does Ashley know where you and Charlie moved to?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t really keep it a secret, and I suppose if she wanted to find out badly enough, she could. I don’t think she will though. Last I heard, she was dating someone. Charlie doesn’t even know what she looks like.”
I glanced down at our hands, which were still entwined. I knew I needed to pull away, but I couldn’t seem to break the connection between us. I looked back up into those beautiful hazel eyes of his.
“Charlie asked me about his mother the other day,” I said.
It was Mason who withdrew his hand from mine. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I blinked a few times, taken back by his sudden change in mood. “I, um, I meant to. I was going to.”
“What did he ask you?”
“If I knew his mother. I told him the truth. That I didn’t know anything about his mother, but if he was curious, he should talk to you about it.”
Mason relaxed a bit and sighed. “It was probably pretty naïve of me to think he wouldn’t be more curious as he gets older, especially with him being in school now.”
“If he asks me again, I’ll do the same and direct him to you.”
Mason gave a short nod. “Thank you, Palmer. I’m sorry I didn’t give you more of a heads up.”
“It’s okay, I get it. I’m just sorry you and Charlie don’t have Ashley in your lives.”
His eyes turned dark and fury crossed his face. “I’m not. She doesn’t belong in my life or Charlie’s. And since moving here, that has only become clearer to me. The best thing she ever did for us was sleep with my brother and get caught. It saved me from a very miserable marriage and saved Charlie from having a selfish mother.”
All I could do was swallow the lump in my throat.
Mason leaned toward me, and I felt my own body being drawn to his.
Don’t do it, Palmer. Do not kiss him, for crying out loud!
Mason lifted his hand and put it on the side of my face. When his thumb lightly brushed over my lip, I felt my entire body shiver with an anticipation I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Maybe not ever. I’d never wanted a kiss so badly in my entire life.
“Daddy?”
I jerked back while Mason jumped to his feet and turned to face Charlie, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hey, buddy. What are you doing up?”
“I heard a noise, and it woke me up. I think I need a puppy to keep me safe.”